Last Friday while doing my grocery shopping I happened to spot a package of pitas. I suddenly had the urge to make one of our favorite snacks – garlic pita chips. I used to make these chips all the time but lately, it has become very difficult to find pita that you can actually cut in half to separate the two sides of the pocket. I lost interest in making this snack when the right type of pita disappeared from the shelves. The package I spotted last Friday looked as if I might be able to separate the two halves to get the result I was looking to obtain.

There are six pitas in the package I purchased. The result, after they are split apart and divided, is 96 pita chips ready for the application of melted butter, fresh garlic, salt and pepper and then a quick trip in a 400 degree F oven. After about 8 minutes they are ready to come out and cool. Thankfully George is at work or the first batch would experience a taste test loss before they even cool!

Pita Chips fresh from the oven! Can’t you smell the garlic?

These are super easy to make but take a fair amount of time – allow yourself at least 90 minutes from start to finish. You could reduce the amount of prep time by buying ready to fill pita pockets and using prechopped garlic.

Garlic Pita Chips

1 package of 6 pita breads 6 inches across

12 Tbl of butter

garlic cloves that have been put through a garlic press. Use as many as you like

Salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Begin by cutting up the pita. Cut the pita round in half. Using a serrated knife, cut the pita to separate the top from the bottom. Stack the tops and bottoms and cut into four wedges. One pita bread should yield 16 “Chips.”

Peel the garlic and press into a bowl. Melt the butter in a heavy bottom saucepan over low heat. You do not want the butter to burn. Add the garlic to the melted butter and cook slowly until the butter is flavored. Remove the butter garlic mixture from the heat.

Line baking sheets with aluminum foil – this will greatly simplify clean up. Using a pastry brush, coat each chip with the butter garlic mixture. Be sure to include some of the garlic on each chip. Place on the lined baking sheet and season with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Bake in the 400-degree oven until the edges of the chips have turned golden brown – about 8 1/2 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet.

Transfer the cooled chips into an airtight container lined with parchment paper. Store in the fridge if they are not going to be eaten within a few days. Let them come to room temperature before serving.

Note: I have experimented with other seasonings on the chips – chipotle chile powder, Italian seasoning, southwest seasoning. We stick to the garlic!